Nice Build!
How did you get those water decals so perfect? Any special brands, inks or techniques?
In the late 60's/early 70's I did *many* (and I mean many) plastic models: cars, planes, tanks, motorcycles, etc. Back then those water decals were easy. You wet them, slid them off, and then placed and adjusted them. No tearing or stretching what so ever. For my last amp build, I acquired some ink jet water decals for the face plate/chassis and followed their instructions to a tee. Including spraying the sheet with acrylic post printing. Allowed for ample dry time for both print/spray. Things just kept stretching and tearing, and when I finally got one on, it looked horrible. So took it off, and settled for conventional decals. Obviously exposing the edge of the decal. Not as nice looking but does the job.
Thanks.
ttfn
Hey RadioComm, thanks for the compliment, sorry it took a while to respond…
Special brand-no I just used some from eBay, but in hind site there are some better quality brands, preferably a bit thicker to help with preventing them folding over or wrinkling. I used to make a few plastic model kits when I was younger too, I’m guessing the transfers were thicker because they did seem easier back then. The only down-side to thicker is the edges will be more defined under a clear layer, you can sand them a bit back but you have to be really careful and will need multiple layers to fill everything up to the one level. I’ve read of people using this technique for guitar headstock logos with some success…
I used laser printer decal film paper instead of ink jet, it’s more colour-fast, no need for a layer of clear before wetting/applying. I’m sure that makes it easier. I also printed the decals full size of the faceplate so there’s no edges. The paper was A4 and the faceplate was 600mm long so I couldn’t do it in one go, so printed it in 3 pieces that all matched up by choosing a place where it was easy to join like a line or some text that was easy to gauge and line up (you can see a line 1/2 way through the bias on the faceplate in the photo above). Once the decals were cut to the right size I put them on one at a time letting them dry between each one so they didn’t move.
I wet the faceplate, folded the decal where the bend in the faceplate was, soaked the decal so the film just started to move, applied the decal and backing to roughly where I wanted it, put 2 fingers top and bottom of edge to stay and slipped backing out from under the film slowly trying not to fold or move it too muck. Then final adjustments to get it lined up on the faceplate and line it up with the previous decal. A dry paper towel to remove the surface water (super gently so not to move the transfer) and leave it to dry before doing the next one.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, large decals are hard to apply without wrinkling, folding over themselves, sometimes you can work them back out but if you get creases under the text that can cause the colour to crack or come off completely. I printed and cut a few so that I had some spares. I stuffed one and had to do it again, another one was touch-and-go but managed to get it back…. Be prepared to bug out if you have to, you can always do it again.
Once all dry, I put it in the oven for about 10 mins at ~150 degrees Celsius (if my memory serves right), and that set everything nicely. I then cut out the holes with a pointed scalpel blade (being careful-they can tear), and added a few clear coats to seal it up (start with a really light coat, and follow paint instructions for re-coat and drying). I found that you could lightly sand between coats with wet and dry sand paper to help keep it smooth (800/1200 was good - use wet, stops the paper clogging up). I did find that I had to sand some holes out again because the extra paint thickness made the hole a bit small for some of the switches etc.
I used Rustoleum paint (gold and gloss clear), no primer needed as it was paint/primer combo paint. I found the heating in the oven discoloured it a bit but that just added to the old feel of it so was ok with it.
Topic: AB763 head and 2x10" extension build (Read 5139 times)